


Mourning The Setting Sun

by Crazyhotsoup



Category: Red Dead Redemption (Video Games)
Genre: Character Death, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Grief/Mourning, Pre-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-03
Updated: 2021-03-03
Packaged: 2021-03-15 23:48:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 777
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29816253
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Crazyhotsoup/pseuds/Crazyhotsoup
Summary: "“Arthur?” The voice came from behind him. He raised his head and tried to quickly wipe away the tears. "
Kudos: 19





	Mourning The Setting Sun

“Arthur?” The voice came from behind him. He raised his head and tried to quickly wipe away the tears. 

“Yeah?” His words came out rough. He cleared his throat and turned around to face the voice. Charles stared at him. Arthur opened his mouth but closed it again. There were no words. 

Charles’ face smoothed as he realized what he had walked into. 

“I’m sorry-” The usually eloquently-spoken man, fumbled. “Do you want me to go?” 

Arthur felt himself waver. 

“Don’t bother, it’s alright.” Charles coughed and Arthur waved him over. “Just sit down.” 

Charles did just that. 

He sat down. 

Arthur sniffled as looked down at his hands. He felt guilty. He didn’t know exactly why. 

“Arthur,” Charles started. “Why were you crying?” 

He knew the question was coming but he felt the tightening in his chest at the words. 

“It’s-” He huffed and felt tears begin to well in his eyes. “It’s been about ten years now.” 

He could feel the question on Charles’ tongue. The realization dawned that he had just shared the most personal part of himself with a man who was nearly a stranger. Arthur sighed before continuing. 

“I had a girl once. Well, she was a waitress and I was the dumb son of a bitch that knocked her up.” He could feel the other man’s gaze boring into him, but he couldn’t stop himself as he rushed to get the words out. 

“I wasn’t what she wanted. She wanted someone good, but I provided. I brought her cuts of jobs I ran. I helped her fix her house when things broke. I tried to be good for her. At a point I even considered going straight for her, getting out of the life.” 

Arthur’s words fizzled out as pain began to build. 

“What happened to them, Arthur?” he looked up from where he was twisting his hands. Charles was looking at him with a strange intensity that he had never seen from the man before. 

“I-” He floundered. He had _never_ shared that part with anyone before. “I went away, like I normally do, but this time when I got there they weren’t there.” 

Charles’ brow furrowed as Arthur spoke. 

He couldn’t dance around it anymore. 

“When I went around back to see if the whole house was closed up, I saw two white crosses.” 

He heard a sharp intake of breath. 

“They were just sitting there. Two perfectly white crosses, not even weathered by one rain.” Arthur could feel the pain, still as fresh as it was on the day in question. 

“I don’t exactly remember screaming, but I must’ve. The way those men came running was frantic. They asked if I was alright. I don’t remember much but I do remember the feeling of soil under my nails and the way they ripped me away from the graves.” 

“What did they tell you?” Arthur hadn’t expected that question. 

“Just that Eliza was dead. The house was robbed and, apparently, they hadn’t given the men enough. Ten dollars. They were killed over ten fucking dollars.” He felt himself laugh. “My son wasn’t more than five years old and he was shot in a robbery. They could’ve left him. He wouldn’t have even known to tell someone what they looked like.” 

“I’m sorry.” He almost had in himself to laugh. Charles’ face was twisted in grief. It wasn’t something he expected. He had expected to turn and see an uncomfortable level of pity.

“It’s in the past.” 

“It still hurts, doesn’t it?” There he went again, asking questions that Arthur didn’t anticipate. 

“It does.” It felt like something he shouldn’t be addicting too. After ten years, he was still crying over their deaths like some fool. 

“Then it’s not _in_ the past.” Arthur knew it was a strange thing to feel a weight lift off his soldiers, but it did. For some god-forsaken reason, it had never occurred to him that he could still feel sad about the death of his family. It felt shameful to even think that _that_ was an option. “It’s not in the past if you’re still feeling it.” 

He felt the well of tears overflow, and they started to stream down his cheeks. His breath came in short stops as he dropped his head into his hands. 

“They’ve been gone for so long-” The words were thick with the tears. He sniffled into his hands and jerkily inhaled. He could feel movement to his right and knew that Charles was hesitating. A hand hovered above his shoulder and, for a moment, he thought it wasn’t going to drop onto his shaking shoulder. 

“It’s alright, Arthur.”


End file.
